5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
Cf: verse 21-23.
We see Greece symbolized by the goat and the great horn represents Alexander the Great. The verses describe his swiftness and power of conquest. In verse 8, we see where Alexander dies, as symbolized by the horn breaking in verse 7. Alexander the Great died at an early age on June 11, 323 in Babylon. Alexander left behind the greatest empire the ancient world had ever seen.
The conquests were swift and it was early in the conquests when Alexander died, so he had not spent enough time in consolidating his rule. As a result, there was no man ready to succeed him yet. His sudden passing away also meant that the empire would soon fall in shock.
The Wars of the Diadochi, or Wars of Alexander’s Successors, were a series of conflict that were fought between the generals over who would rule the empire after Alexandar’s death. Initially, Greece was divided among four of his generals:
Kingdom of Cassander
Kingdom of Lysimachus
Kingdom of Seleucus / Nicator
Kingdom of Ptolemy / Soter
Cassander. After Alexander’s death, Cassander murdered Alexander’s wife, Roxana, and only successor, Alexander IV who was not yet born when Alexander died. Alexander IV was approximately 14 years of age when he was murdered. Cassander also murdered Alexander’s illegitimate son Heracles. In addition, he ordered the death of Olympias, Alexander’s mother. Now there was truly no heir. Cassander died of dropsy, and his kingdom was precured by Antigonus II Gonatas – the grandson of Antigonus and the son of Demetrius – who took advantage of the anarchy that followed Cassander and Seleucus’ death.
Lysimachus. After Alexander’s death, Lysimachus ruled Thrace, and expanded his territory to the north part of Asia Minor, Lydia, Ionia, and Phyrgia. His third wife, Arsinoe II, wanted to secure the succession of her own son on the throne and forced Lysimachus to kill his first- born son, Agathocles. This murder caused a revolt and Seleucus took advantage of the situation, invaded and killed Lysimachus at the battle of Kouropedion in 281 BC. When Lysimachus died, the kingdom (Thrace) was absorbed into Syria and Macedonia. After the his death, further changes occurred; but the state of Pergamus, which sprang up at this time. Pergamum may be regarded as the continuation of Lysimachus’s kingdom, and as constituting from the time of Eumenes I (B.C. 263).
Seleucus. After Seleucus took part in the assassination of Perdiccas, for this service he was awarded the satrapy of Babylon. Seleucus punished one of the soldiers of Antigonus who had visited Babylon. Seleucus did not have permission to do this, and Antigonus requested monetary retribution; but Seleucus refused and fled to Egypt. While in Egypt, Seleucus help coordinate the other diadochi against Antigonus who was now the strongest disdochos and who fought under Ptolemy as an admiral. Seleucus saw an opportunity and gathered a company and reclaimed Babylon, thus establishing his dynasty, the Seleucids. Seleucus continued to expand his territory. Just after Seleucus defeated Lysimachus, he was assassinated by his ally, Ptolemy Keraunos, the son of Ptolemy. The Seleucids continued as a kingdom until they were conquered by the Roman Empire in 63 BC.
Ptolemy I Sorter. Ptolemy became the strap of Egypt. Ptolemy stole Alexander’s body and in Alexandria he constructed a luxurious tomb where Alexander was worshiped as a god. Ptolemy fought in the wars of the Diadochi, expanding his realm with Cyprus, Cyrenaica, and Judea. Ptolemy died in 282 BC. Ptolemy Keraunos (Ptolemy’s son) came to power and assassinated Seleucus.
There was as much war over how Greece would be divided, and even after the initial division the generals warred with each other for the purpose of gaining more of the Grecian territory for themselves. After Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus were dead the wars of the Diadochi ended.
What emerged as stable kingdoms with longevity were the:
Kingdom of Seleucid, they ruled much of what had been the Persian Empire.
Kingdom of Ptolemy, they ruled Egypt.
Kingdom of Antigonus, ruled Macedonia.
Kingdom of Pergamum (Pergamom), the Attalids ruled the western part of Asia Minor.
These ambitious generals attempted to secure parts of Alexander’s empire leading to the creation of the kingdoms that shaped the Hellenistic World. This was a period of intrigue, treachery, and blood. These general fought one another, which included assassination. The infighting only weakened the nation, and they never ruled with the power of Alexander the Great, and we are told in the Bible and we can read in history that eventually Greece fell to Rome.
So, we have the he-goat with a notable horn between its eyes (Greece, Alexander the Great) which came from the west, he waxed great and then the horn was broken (Alexander’s death) and then four notable ones (horns) came up towards the four winds of heaven.
Looking back to chapter 7:6, we see the parallel of the leopard with four wings of a fowl which is similar to the he-goat which did not touch the ground as if he was flying; symbolizing the power and speed of conquests. Also, the leopard had four heads which parallels with the four horns; clearly depicting a division.
Updated 12/26/2023, added more information about the kingdoms that emerged after Alexander’s death.
Updated 01/03/2024, removed duplicate information and added referenced scripture.